Epichlorohydrin treatment of feathers



'nited States 2,928,714. EPICHLOROHYDRIN" TREATMENT OF FEATHERS Varsenig Z. Pasternak, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to the United States of America as: represented by thev Secretary of the Army No Drawing. Application April 23, 1957 Serial No. 654,619

4 Claims. (Cl. 8-94.10)

This invention relates to a method of treating land fowl feathers, especially chicken feathers, to increase their filling power and resiliency, and to impart permanent curliness and water repellency, thereby making such feathers an acceptable substitute for the standard down and feather mixture now in wide use for sleeping bags,

A further object is to employ a single I atent The Oflice of Technical Services, Department of Commerce, and to the article by N. B. Edelman in Textile Research Journal, vol. 17, p. 199 (April 1947), entitled Investigation of Methods for Determining the Filling Power of Feathers. See also the Sinski et al. Patent No. 2,706,910 dated April 26, 1955. Ordinarily, chicken feathers have a filling power of 1.8 to 2.1 cm., while the 4060 down-feather mixture has a filling power of 5.3 to 5.9 cm.

The term feathers as used herein includes whole land fowl feathers of the desired size, crushed (commercial curled) land fowl feathers, land fowl feather fibers, stripped land fowl feathers, and mixtures of these.

In the preferred procedure, the feathers, if not known to be entirely free from blood, are first soaked for about ten minutes at about 110125 F. in a solution of Coagusol (a mixture of sodium hexametaphosphate and alcohol sulfate), a commercial blood solubilizer. After the soaking, the solution is drained from the feathers and the feathers are then laundered or dry cleaned. In laundering, preferably a detergent such as ,Tergitol NPX (alkyl phenyl ether of polyethylene glycol) is used (0.25% water solution at 1l0l25 F.). Other nonionic detergents have been found to be satisfactory. In general, the non-ionic type of detergents should be used to obviate any action on the protein of the feathers. Laundering continues for about twenty minutes, then the solution is removed from the feathers by centrifuging or wringing. While a number of well known dry cleaning solutions could be used to clean the feathers, laundering is preferred because it is less expensive. Both laundering and dry cleaning may take'place in the same vessel or operation are placed in a 1% water solution of trisodium phosphate Na PO .12H O at 110-120 F. for about ten minutes. If feathers from mature chickens are being ar ice step, is important. because ill-materially increases the curli ness of thefeathers' and it curls naturallyuncurly-mature-y f a hersth r by to incr as t e; ul s lueo the fin feather product. Other suitably buffered alkaline solutions, for example, sodium carbonate or borax, may be used in lieu of the trisodium phosphate, but in all cases the time of the treatment must be less for immature chickens to avoid excessive degradation. Trisodium phosphate is preferred because of its quicker action due to a higher pH. It is believed that the higher concentration of cystine linkages in mature feathers enables them to resist the action of the alkaline solution for a longer period.

The data from a successful run at The Tanners Council Laboratory, University of Cincinnati will now be given. A 70 gram batch of poor quality chicken feathers was soaked in 1500 ml. of the phosphate solution previously described. The well rinsed feathers were placed in 1500 ml. of 2.5% aqueous solution of a epichlorohydrin (lchloro-2,3-epoxypropane) which was obtained from the Matheson Coleman & Bell Division of The Matheson Company, Inc., B. Rutherford, NJ. The batch was kept for thirty minutes in this solution at pH 6.4 and 45 C. Then the pH was raised to 9.2 with dilute Na CO solution. After twenty-five minutes the pH was 8.8. After forty-five minutes the pH was 8.4. At the end of sixtyfive minutes the pH was 7.9 and after two hours it was down to 7.4. V This lowering of the pH was probably due to the forming of HCl from the epichlorohydrin. The total time of treatmentwas minutes. The solution was neutralized with dilute acetic acid; then the feathers were rinsed and dried in a tumble drier. The filling power of the treated feathers was 5.9 cm., which is high, considering the quality of the raw product. A better grade of featherstreated in the same manner would have a filling power of about 6.5 cm.

The treated feathers were resistant to papain-bisulfite digestion, showing enhanced resistance to microbiological attack, and had other desirable qualities as mentioned in the statement of objects.

Having described the invention, I claim:

1. A method of treating land fowl feathers to enhance aqueous solution of epichlorohydrin at about 4 5 C. with the pH of said epichlorohydrin solution initially at about 6.4, then raising the pH of said epichlorohydrin solution to about 9.2 with a dilute alkaline solution, allowing the pH of said epichlorohydrin solution to drop to a pH of about 7.4, said feathersbeing kept in the epichlorohydrin solution until their filling power is substantially increased, removing the feathers from said epichlorohydrin solution, then rinsing and drying the feathers.

2. A method of treating land fowl feathers to enhance their filling power, which comprises modifying the cystine linkage of the keratin of said land fowl feathers by immersing said feathers in an aqueous alkaline solution until their curliness is increased, rinsing said feathers after said immersion, then immersing 'said feathers in a dilute aqueous solution of epichlorohydrin at about 45 C. with the pH of said epichlorohydrin solution initially about 6.4, then raising the pH of said epichlorohydrin solution to about 9.2, with a dilute alkaline solution and allowing the pH of said epichlorohydrin solution to drop to about 7.4, neutralizing said epichlorohydrin solution, said feathers being kept iii theepichiorohydriu solutioh for a total of about 150 minutes until their filling power is'substantially increased, removing the feathers from saidepiohlorohydrinsolution, then rinsing and drying the feathers;

'3 The method acgording to plaim 1, vVher ein said; aqueous alkalinesolution is an approximately 1% solu tionof 'triso'dium phosphate having a temperature of Re!erei1ces Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Schlack Sept. 27, 1938 Schlack Dec. 19, 1939 Schlack May 28, 1940 Frederick' .."..I Sept. 10, 1957 v .Frederick Sept. 10, 1957- FOREIGN PAIEhITS a a Great'Britain Oct. 4, 1950 

1. A METHOD OF TREATING LAND FOWL FEATHERS TO ENHANCE THIR FILLING POWER, WHICH COMPRISES MODIFYING THE CYSTINE LINKAGE OF THE KERATIN OF SAID LAND FOWL FEATHERS BY IMMERSING SAID FEATHERS IN AN AQUEOUS ALKALINE SOLUTION UNTIL THEIR CURLINESS IS INCREASED, RINSING SAID FEATHERS AFTER SAID IMMERSION, THEN IMMERSING SAID FEATHERS IN A DILUTE AQUEOUS SOLUTION OF EPICHLOROHYDRIN AT ABOUT 45* C. WITH THE PH OF SAID EPICHLOROHYDRING SOLUTION INITIALLY AT ABOUT 6.4, THEN RAISING THE PH OF SAID EPICHLOROHYDRIN SOLUTION TO ABOUT 9.2 WITH A DILUTE ALKALINE SOLUTION, ALLOWING THE PH OF SAID EPICHLORLHYDRIN SOLUTION TO DROP TO A PH OF ABOUT 7.4, SAID FEATHERS BEING KEPT IN THE EPICHLOROHYDRIN SOLUTION UNTIL THEIR FILLING POWER IS SUBSTANTIALLY INCREASED, REMOVING THE FEATHERS FROM SAID EPICHLOROHYDRIN SOLUTION, THEN RINSING AND DYING THE FEATNERS. 